Film News: Green Lantern gets a trailer

Call me a killjoy but I’m going to be one of the first to predict that The Green Lantern will flop. DC Comics have taken a huge risk putting a $150 million budget behind a super-hero whom even I hadn’t heard of. Yes, it has a director with considerable clout behind it but Martin Campbell, despite the success of GoldenEye and Casino Royale, is far from a household name so I imagine the marketing will make heavy use of ‘from the director of…’ rather than his name. It also has Ryan Reynolds in the titular role but bar a bit-part in the average X-Men Origins: Wolverine he hasn’t had any real super-hero, or even action, experience.

 

Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer

At long last Cee Lo Green (perhaps better known as 1/2 of Gnarls Barkley) has released his 3rd solo album. Since the cosmic success of breakout hit Crazy, Cee Lo has had bit-part roles on various hip-hop and R&B albums as well as a sophomore album with Danger Mouse in Gnarls Barkley. Now he has recorded his overdue follow-up to Cee Lo Green… is the Soul Machine. The Lady Killer is less ‘self-orientated’ than his previous output (both other albums had ‘Cee Lo Green’ in the title) and is more of a send-up of 50’s motown and vintage songcraft with smatterings of hip-hop that he does so well. Like his previous 2 albums producers from song-to-song vary but, unlike his previous albums, there’s none of that genre-hopping schizophrenia and in its place are stadium-sized melodies and grooves.

 

Cee Lo Green – No One’s Gunna Love You (Band of Horses cover)

Having already been half of the band that created arguably the most important song of the Noughties you think Cee Lo Green would have been content staying in Gnarls Barkley with Dangermouse. His solo work has been sporadic to day the least with ‘Fuck You!’ being his first solo single for 6 years but now he seems keen to make up for lost time with his debut solo album The Lady Killer highly anticipated by critics and the public alike.

Along side ‘Fuck You!’ and the newly revelaed Georgia Cee Lo has shown his diversity by covering a song from a band who couldn’t be further removed from Cee Lo’s genre. Band of Horses are a band who’ve been on the cusp of success for 2 albums now and this cover could give them another welcome popularity boost. The original is a sombre, relaxed ballad given much heart by Ben Bridwell, who I maintain has the best voice in the indie scene. Cee Lo, however, takes the song in an entirely different direction, and though it doesn’t have the emotional kickinthecrotch that the Band of Horses version possess nor Bridwell’s unique vocals Cee Lo does put his own spin on it and gives it another dimension. Not that his vocals are to be sniffed at; they’re incredibly impressive at points in the song and match the beat with gusto. It just never feels like this is designed to be a dance song and it falters at bits because of it. A welcome change of pace, being entirely different from ‘Fuck You!’ and Georgia its another facet of Cee Lo’s work that we could be expecting on his future EP. We’ll just have to wait and see.